Connected
by ScoutTrooper
Summary: Alex and Maggie have a run in with an alien that leaves them connected in a way that neither thought possible.
1. Chapter 1

**This is the first chapter in what will be a slow burn Alex & Maggie fic. It's unbetaed and I'm English so I apologise for any spelling differences I haven't caught.**

 **Chapter 1**

"You really know all the cool places to hang out, Danvers."

Alex looked up from the scope of her assault rifle as Maggie Sawyer edged around the side of the dumpster Alex had been using for cover and dropped into a crouch at her side.

"I thought you were on a date?" Alex asked, trying to keep her tone light. She had been surprised how much it bothered her seeing Maggie kiss the tall blonde outside the precinct a few hours ago, and it wasn't a feeling Alex planned on examining too closely any time soon. No, the plan had been to go home, watch a sappy movie, and eat her weight in Cheetos, but plans changed quickly in her line of work and Alex had barely thrown her keys on the kitchen counter before the emergency call came in. Now here she was, at the entrance to a dingy alley behind what had been, before tonight, one of her favourite takeout places. She didn't even want to think about how many health code violations she had already spotted. Kara was not going to be happy about this when she told her, that was for sure.

"Gross," Maggie muttered, and Alex couldn't help but smile as she watched the smaller woman use the toe of her boot to shove away a mouldy pizza box, her nose wrinkling in disgust. "Yeah well, you know how it goes," Maggie shrugged, the smile not quite reaching her eyes as she rechecked the clip in her gun and turned, poking her head out above Alex's to assess the situation. "They call and tell me that there's an alien running around downtown shooting lightning out of his butt, I come running."

Alex laughed, but dropped her head back to her weapon to keep the alien in her sights while Maggie broke cover. "Hate to break it to you, Sawyer, but it only shoots from his hands...not his butt."

"Either way, it's pretty cool," Maggie grinned, turning again to slip back down to relative safety once she had gotten a good look at the layout of the deserted Plaza they had it confined to. "So, we gotta plan for twinkle fingers over there or what?"

Alex couldn't stop her lips from twitching up at the cute nickname Maggie had given the 7ft tall, red veined alien, that could probably charge the city's power for the next few months with one blast of his elongated fingers. Smiling was something Alex seemed to do a lot of around the NCPD detective she had started to notice.

"Keep the perimeter, wait for Supergirl." Alex recited Hank's orders as she readjusted her grip to keep her fingers from cramping up.

Maggie rolled her eyes and let her head drop back against the metal dumpster with a dull thud. "Oh good, we're babysitting," she groaned.

"Pretty much," Alex agreed with a sympathetic glance at the smaller woman, "but since the Kastugan already took out six of our men, I think I'll take babysitting over 50,000 volts, if that's alright with you?" Sitting on the sidelines would never fully sit right with her, but Alex trusted Winn when he told her that he had a plan to knock out the Kastugan's power if they could just get Kara in close enough. She trusted Hank to co-ordinate their tactics to give Kara the shot she needed. Most of all, she trusted Kara to get it done, no matter what.

"Yeah, I think I'll stick with 'Twinkle fingers," Maggie tilted her head back and made a show of checking the skies. "Where is the caped wonder anyway? I kinda figured she'd be here by now."

Alex frowned, hearing the slight shift in Maggie's tone when she mentioned Kara. It wasn't the first time she had heard some kind of tension color the way the detective spoke about Supergirl. It was almost as if Maggie had taken an instant distrust to her sister and it just didn't seem like the detective to make such a snap judgement on someone she barely knew. Not to mention the fact that it was Kara, for God's sake, she usually had everyone she met wrapped around her little finger within minutes. It was something that would become more and more of a problem if they we're going to continue working together the way they had been lately. It was also something Alex knew they should revisit when they didn't have an angry, supercharged extraterrestrial to deal with. "She's getting an upgrade to her suit to minimise the effects of whatever it is he's firing, and hopefully something that can shut him down," she said evenly, nodding towards the Kastugan, who had started taking pot shots at a news chopper that had gotten a little too close to the action trying to get that exclusive. "We've got him contained for now."

"An upgrade?" Maggie scoffed, one eyebrow raised, "you telling me she's not perfect already?"

Alex sighed, lowering the gun from her shoulder. Maybe they would be talking about it now after all. "Maggie..."

Alex didn't get a chance to finish what she was going to say as the alien gave a loud roar of frustration. Alex leaned to the side to catch a view of the giant Kastugan charging forwards, trying in vain to find a new target now that the news chopper had wisely backed off to a safer distance.

Alex did a quick sweep of the plaza, making sure that all of her teams were holding cover and safe. She reached up to the Comm switch on her headgear, intent on getting an update on Kara's ETA, but before she could tap the mike Maggie hopped up from her side and made a break from behind the dumpster, out of the alley and into the nearest doorway.

"Sawyer!" Alex called roughly as she lifted her weapon and broke cover to chase after her. "What the hell?" Alex whispered harshly as she caught up with Maggie, gripping her upper arm and spinning her around.

Maggie slowly pulled her arm away with a raised eyebrow and Alex felt her face flush. Her hand tingled.

Alex cleared her throat. "What are you doing?"

"I have an idea."

Alex stared at her.

Maggie rolled her eyes. "He's distracted, I'm going to circle around and see if we get the jump on him."

"That's not an idea, that's crazy!" Alex laughed in disbelief. "First of all he's one very pissed off alien. There is no getting the jump on him, believe me, we've tried. And second of all, in case you haven't noticed, we're running an operation here. There are rules...we have orders."

Maggie shrugged. "Not my orders.

Alex tensed, taking a step closer to the detective and making full use of her height advantage. "We have full jurisdiction."

Maggie tilted her head to the side and smirked. "You say that a lot, did you know that?"

"Well, maybe I wouldn't have to keep saying it if you started listening to me..." Once again Alex didn't get any further before Maggie had turned on her heel and made a run for an overturned car. "Sawyer! Damn it! Hank is going to kill me for this," Alex tapped off the Comm unit in her ear, swung her rifle around her back and trailed after her.

"I knew you'd come round to my way of thinking, Danvers?" Maggie grinned as Alex caught up to her.

Alex just shook her head. "If we don't get killed...you owe me a beer or six."

"Deal," Maggie agreed, before her brow furrowed. "You hear that?"

Alex tilted her head. "Hear what? I don't hear anything."

Beside her Maggie grimaced. "Exactly."

She had barely finished the word before the car they were sheltering behind lifted up and was thrown against the nearest building.

Alex turned quickly on her knees, her hands already reaching for her weapon. But she wasn't fast enough. The Kastugan held out his hands and sent a blast of electricity straight into them.

Alex had been in her share of fights, and been on the wrong end of enough of them to know pain. And this was pain. The kind where you can feel every nerve ending in your body...and some you didn't even know you had. It was over as quick as it came, but it left Alex on her knees, sweaty, breathless and unable to move. Her whole body was paralysed. Alex could tell from her peripheral vision that Maggie was in exactly the same position on the other side of the Kastugan.

Kara landed in Alex's line of sight, her cape billowing out behind her into the night. Alex usually loved how cool it looked when her sister did the superhero landing, not that she would ever admit that to Kara, she would rather willingly submit to a thousand thanksgiving interrogations from Eliza than give out that little piece of information. She could just imagine the smug little grin Kara would get every time she landed in front of Alex if she knew.

True to his word, Winn had fully outfitted Kara's suit. Her normally bare hands were encased in what looked like a titanium mesh, with a small white light glowing in the centre of her palm. She looked a little like a diet Iron Man and Alex wanted nothing more than to be able to tease her about it, but she still couldn't speak. Or move.

The alien shot an arc of power from his hands straight at Kara, who braced herself, waiting to see how the adaptations to her suit would fare. The material of Kara's super suit rippled with light but it seemed to have no other effect on her. Kara gave a little grin and rolled her shoulders back, a move Alex had come to recognise as meaning she was getting ready to kick some ass. Kara planted her feet and shot a beam of heat vision straight at the Kastugan's chest. The alien tipped his head back and roared in pain as he brought both hands down onto the back of Alex and Maggie's heads. The more of Kara's heat vision he absorbed the more the red veins that covered his body pulsed with light. Like a battery that was being charged up.

Alex knew the exact second that Kara realised what was happening, saw the understanding flicker across her face as she blinked and stopped the beam projecting from her eyes.

But it was too late.

The hand on the back of her neck tightened and Alex tensed, waiting for another round of searing pain as electricity coursed through her veins, but it didn't come. All she felt was a series of vibrations at the base of her skull, as if she had laid her head back on one of those massage chairs at the mall.

The vibrations got stronger and stronger, jolting Alex around the floor like a rag doll. She could no longer see Maggie out of the corner of her eye, but she had to believe that she was receiving the same fate. The last thing Alex saw before the blackness descended was the panic on Kara's face as she ran towards her, arm outstretched.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**This story will mostly be told from Alex's point of view. Many thanks to Daniela for beta reading! Any mistakes left in are all my own. :)**

Alex hated the DEO infirmary. Even here, in their state of the art building in the centre of the city, this room always made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Every fear, every nightmare she ever had about losing her sister, about not doing enough to save her, played out in a room just like this.

It had been six hours since she had woken up. Six hours of seemingly endless tests, six hours of questions about her tactical decisions from Hank, six hours of Kara's worried eyes watching her every move, and Maggie's guilty ones avoiding her gaze in the next bed. Alex was more than ready for this night to be over. More than ready to go home.

"Okay, I think we're just about done here," the night shift medic said with a smile, dropping the light from her eyes. "Everything looks good, I'll just get the paperwork for both you and Detective Sawyer and you'll be cleared to go home."

Alex blew out a breath of relief. She had been worried that if they held her here any longer Kara would break and call Eliza. That was a whole other level of crap that Alex wasn't prepared to deal with tonight. "Great, thank you," she replied, already scanning the room for her boots.

Maggie stayed perched quietly on the edge of her own bed. She had hardly spoken in the last few hours, only a few murmured words to the medics monitoring them both, never quite loud enough for Alex to hear. She had woken to Maggie's eyes on her, serious and, for a brief second Alex thought she had imagined it, scared. Then she blinked and Maggie's face became shuttered, closed, to Alex it felt like walking into the shade from the sun.

"Alex, maybe you should stay overnight, just to be sure," Kara suggested worriedly, from her place at the foot of Alex's bed. "You were...it was bad."

Alex resisted the urge to reach up and touch the bandage that covered her temple, knowing that Kara would take it as a sign that she was right. "I'm fine. I just want to sleep in my own bed."

Winn pushed open the infirmary door, effectively cutting off any further mothering Kara obviously wanted to indulge in.

"You'll be happy to know that our grouchy alien lightning rod seems to be completely drained of power and is sleeping off his little spree in containment." Winn held up his tablet, showing a video feed from the cells downstairs.

"So what was that we got hit by earlier?" Maggie asked, directing her question to Winn, ignoring the way both Alex and Kara had turned her way. Alex wanted nothing more than to comfort her. Kara looked like she wanted to drop her from the CatCo penthouse.

Winn scratched his chin with a smile. "I honestly don't know. From all of our prior research on the species you should both be...well..."

"Dead?" Maggie's gaze flicked to her and Alex was surprised to see the shadow of fear there once more.

"Or least a little charred," Winn's smile quickly disappeared as he caught the look in Kara's eye and he cleared his throat uncomfortably. "So I'm just gonna go and um...not be here." He flipped his tablet around and held it to his chest like a shield. "Supergirl, do you wanna come with me and you know...not be here too?"

"No," Kara said shortly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You wanna point that glare somewhere else maybe?" Maggie shot over her shoulder to Kara as she picked up her jacket from the bed and yanked it on, her defences firmly back in place. "Wouldn't want your heat vision kicking in by accident now, would we?"

Winn's eyes widened and he looked helplessly at Alex who could only shrug. She pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a long sigh, she needed to get a handle on this before one, or both of them, said something they would regret.

Kara's hands tightened into fists and Alex could practically see her vibrating with tension as she took a step closer to Maggie.

"Supergirl," Alex said, softly, capturing Kara's attention.

Kara shook her head, her voice rough and scratchy, which Alex knew meant she was almost on the verge of tears. "No, Alex...you almost...I thought you were..."

"I know," Alex nodded, "I know, but I'm okay. I'm fine." She reached for her sisters's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze while seeing Maggie quickly look away from the corner of her eye.

Alex pulled Kara a little closer and lowered her voice so they couldn't be overheard. "Honestly, Kara. It was just a mistake, okay?"

"She put you in danger."

"I put myself in danger. I turned off my Comm unit...I didn't hear the warning."

"But..."

"Maggie would never knowingly put me in danger. I believe that...I'm asking you to believe me, alright?"

"Alright...I'm still not happy about _any_ of this though, you know that right?"

Alex laughed. "You've made your feelings very clear. The pouting was an especially nice touch."

Kara smiled despite herself. "I thought so."

Alex checked over Kara's shoulder, Maggie still had her back to them as if she was giving them some space. "Hey, listen I'm starving...I don't suppose my favorite sister would be willing to take a trip to that food truck I like?"

Kara smiled indulgently. "I could be persuaded. But if I do...I get all the potstickers for the next month."

Alex rolled her eyes. "Two weeks."

"Deal!" Kara grinned smugly.

"Brat."

"You love me." Kara leaned forward and pulled Alex into a hug, squeezing just a little too hard.

"Okay, okay...still a little beat up here," Alex wheezed, tapping Kara's back.

Kara released her immediately, her brow furrowing in concern. "Sorry, sorry...I just...I couldn't take it if anything happened to you."

"I know," Alex said softly, reaching for Kara's hand again, "I feel the same."

Alex heard Maggie clear her throat from the other side of the room and she dropped Kara's hand without really knowing why.

"Kara, please don't put all the blame for this on Maggie. I'm...I'm asking."

Kara looked at her intently and Alex wondered what she must have seen, because Kara's shoulders relaxed and she gave Alex a gentle smile. "I'll try my best."

Alex breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

Kara lifted her hand, giving Alex's shoulder one last squeeze before turning on her heel and striding towards the door. Her steps faltered as she passed Maggie's bed, as if she was contemplating something. Alex could only hope that it was something good.

Kara stopped and nodded at the Detective. "Sawyer."

Maggie looked surprised, but recovered quickly, inclining her head in the same way Kara just had. "Supergirl."

Alex supposed that was the best she was going to get while things were still so raw, deciding that she would wait a few days and then start working on her sister. Kara had never been able to resist her for very long.

Kara turned to her once again. "Alex, I'll meet you at your place?"

Maggie lifted an eyebrow and spun around to collect her badge and gun from the small table by her bed.

"Right...my place," Alex muttered quickly, acutely aware that Kara was now flicking her eyes curiously between them both. "I'll see you there."

Alex stared at Kara, tipping her head towards the door meaningfully until her sister finally held up her hands and backed away. Alex sighed, she knew they would be having a conversation about _that_ later on.

Maggie only turned back around when she heard the door to the infirmary close. She tilted her head the way Kara had just left. "Should I expect to wake up with her hovering outside my window from now on?"

Alex let out a breath she didn't even know she had been holding in, overwhelmingly relieved to hear Maggie joking around with her again. "I'm not going to lie...It's a possibility," she smirked.

"You're close, the two of you." It wasn't a question.

Alex nodded, unwilling to get in to the complications of who Kara was to her after the night they just had.

"Right," Maggie hesitated, like she was waiting for Alex to elaborate and when she didn't she stuffed her hands deep in the pockets of her leather jacket, dropped her head and made a move for the door. "So, I guess I'll see you around.

Alex hopped down from the bed and made it in two quick strides, effectively blocking Maggie's way out. "What's going on, Maggie?" she asked gently.

Maggie tensed, her gaze flicking around the room for another exit even though she knew there were none. "What are you talking about?"

Alex searched her face, looking for some kind of clue as what was going on. Maggie was a good cop. She didn't go around putting other people's lives on the line for kicks. Something must have happened to throw her so far off her game tonight. Something that had made her so reckless that now she could hardly meet Alex's eyes for more than a brief second before finding the floor again, the wall, the goddamn door. Maggie had only ever been direct with her, no shades of gray, the least Alex could do was give her the same courtesy. "You were reckless tonight, and that's coming from someone who's usually on the other end of this conversation," Alex deliberately softened her tone when she saw the smaller woman flinch. "We were lucky. We could have both been killed."

Maggie's eyes flashed. "You didn't have to follow me."

"Yes...I did." Alex reached out and touched Maggie's arm briefly. "You said you didn't do well with partners, but you have one now, and if you go off to do something stupid then I go along for the ride. Okay?"

All of the fight seemed to drain out of Maggie then. "You're right," she murmured, winding her arms around her waist, "I'm sorry. It was crazy and thoughtless...and so, so not me. I wasn't thinking clearly, I should never have taken the call." Maggie took a step back and scrubbed her hands over her face. "Ugh...I should have gone home to that bottle of Jack like I planned and none of this would have happened. I'm so sorry, Alex."

"What happened?"

"Is it...would it be okay if we didn't talk about this right now?" Maggie looked up at her, her bottom lip pulled between her teeth and Alex was struck all of a sudden by how vulnerable she looked.

"Of course...we don't have to talk about it at all, if you don't want to," Alex rushed to offer some reassurance, "I just...I want you to know that I'm here if you need to talk...or not talk. Whatever you need...okay?"

Maggie smiled and Alex felt like a weight has been lifted. "Thanks, Danvers, I just might take you up on that. You know...if you're not busy."

Maggie's eyes were dark and warm, and Alex felt herself stepping forward before she had even made the conscious decision to do it.

"Never too busy." Alex stilled, her eyes widening when she heard how low and intimate her voice sounded. Thank God she hadn't said the _'for you'_ that had been on the tip of her tongue. Her heart was already in her mouth.

Maggie's jaw clenched noticeably but she stayed silent and Alex found herself wanting to know what she was thinking more than anything in the world.

Alex cleared her throat and smiled hesitantly. "Anyway, tonight, my only plans are to eat and sleep. And the way I'm feeling right now...the sleeping might even happen during the eating," she stepped around Maggie and retreated towards her bed, "...that's if I can find my boots."

Alex searched in silence for what felt like an eternity. It must have only been a few seconds before Maggie said quietly, "They're by the cabinet."

Alex let out a breath. "Thanks." She rolled her shoulders, feeling exhausted all of a sudden. "This was a _long_ night."

Maggie smiled. "I hear you. I feel like I could sleep for a week."

Alex held up her hands. "Let's not take it too far, I still plan on getting back here tomorrow and getting to work on the data we're getting from the Kastugan."

Maggie's eyebrow raised and Alex couldn't help but smile, it was fast becoming one of her favourite things about the smaller woman. "You sure Supergirl's gonna be okay with that? She seems pretty protective," Maggie questioned, hands once again in her pockets.

"Oh, she is," Alex agreed, "but she knows better than to try and keep me away from work by now."

Maggie stiffened and Alex found herself scrambling to find something to get them back on firmer ground again.

"You're welcome to join me in studying the direct charge fluctuations," she offered, feeling the tension in her spine release as Maggie smiled once more.

"Maybe some other time," she shrugged.

Alex turned towards the cabinet Maggie had pointed her to earlier. "It should be fascinating, it's not often you get to study an anomaly in a species like the Kastugan," she said animatedly, bending down to retrieve her boots.

 _'Nerd._ '

Alex laughed and rolled her eyes. "You keep calling me that and you're gonna give me a complex," she said as she turned and pulled one shoe on.

Maggie tilted her head with a confused smile. "Call you what?"

"You just called me a nerd..." Alex looked up from lacing her boot, "...didn't you?"

Maggie frowned. "Er...yeah, I did," she said slowly, "just, you know...not out loud."

TBC


End file.
